The invention relates to a pedestrian protection device for a motor vehicle.
An adjustable pedestrian protection device, which is in particular arranged in the front region of a passenger car, is generally known. When a collision with a pedestrian or bicyclers is detected, the pedestrian protection device has the purpose to quickly raise a crash-active front flap in the region of the windshield via one or multiple pyrotechnically controlled actuators so as to assume a protective position which is raised relative to a body of the motor vehicle and to maintain the front flap in the protective position. The front flap, which is fixed in the protective position, serves as impact energy absorbing deformation element and is intended to dampen the impact of a person onto the front flap and thereby reduce the degree or the risk of injury to the person caused by the impact onto the front flap.
From DE 10 2010 021 687 A1 a pedestrian protection device for a motor vehicle is known. The pedestrian protection device includes a front flap which is connected to a body of the motor vehicle via a coupling device and at least one actuating device by which the front flap can be moved relative to the body of the motor vehicle into a protective position by means of an actuator and can be fixed in the protective position. The at least one actuator is respectively connected with the corresponding coupling device and the front flap via a ball joint, wherein the ball joint includes a joint head and a joint socket unit which receives the joint head and which includes a joint socket and a securing element which at least partially surrounds the joint socket. Hereby a joint head of the first ball joint is connected with the front flap and a joint head of the second ball joint is screwed together with the actuator device of the body of the motor vehicle. The ball joints include joint heads, which are completely received in receiving joint sockets of the joint socket unit and are secured by a surrounding securing element. The screwed joint heads are checked by testing the fastening torque of the screwed connection prior to or after the mounting of the actuator.